The Army Corps’ hopper dredge Currituck is back in Ocean City, Maryland, to remove built up sediment in the channel and improve navigation.
According to the Corps, Dredge Currituck mobilized to Ocean City on Nov. 5, and started dredging work in the inlet on Nov. 6.
The Currituck will work in the area for about a month, with about 25 days focused on Assateague Bypass work. The work also includes five days focused specifically on dredging shoaling hotspots in the inlet channel, stated USACE.
Assateague bypass work involves removing material from both in and around the channel; emphasizing the ebb and flood shoals – mitigating impacts to natural sediment transport caused by the Ocean City Inlet and its jetties.
Crews will take the dredged material south of the inlet offshore of Assateague Island, where it counteracts erosion.
Dredge Currituck is a special purpose dredge based out of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District. The vessel primarily works in the shallow-draft ocean bar channels along the Atlantic coast.